Lone Star College students from LSC-Kingwood and LSC-Tomball were selected as a Top Outstanding Delegation, representing Doctors Without Borders, at this year’s National Model United Nations (NMUN) conference. The LSC delegation also received four Best Paper awards and four Best in Committee awards.

“The annual NMUN conference is the premier international competition and the students who compete are rarely first and second-year undergraduates, which is the exclusive makeup of the Lone Star College teams” said Sean Tiffee, LSC-Tomball Speech Communications professor and co-advisor. “Most of the students competing are juniors, seniors, or often graduate students from the top academic institutions around the world.”

LSC-CyFair, LSC-Montgomery, LSC-North Harris and LSC-University Park students representing the South Africa NMUN Delegation were also honored with a Distinguished Delegation award. The delegation also received five Position Paper awards and three Outstanding Delegate awards.

“Participating in Model U.N. has offered me the extraordinary experience to grow my critical thinking skills by attempting to solve real world issues via a simulation,” said Roberto Morales, LSC student delegate. “For me, Model U.N. has illustrated that any career in the legal sphere requires cooperation, being open to new perspectives, and the ability to draw plausible solutions that adhere to laws and regulations.”

“The LSC Honors College Model United Nations team represents the best refinement of what we want Honors and International education to be,” said Brian Kyser, executive director LSC Honors College. “By bringing our students and faculty together across multiple campuses to learn together to solve the world's greatest diplomatic challenges, we see vital growth in collaboration, communication and shared global citizenship."

The students are enrolled in the LSC Honors College which offers a wide range of opportunities for honors students including incoming freshman wanting to graduate with an Honors AA or Honors AS degree, high-achieving students seeking to graduate with Honors distinction and students interested in earning individual Honors course credit.

“In these trying times, I welcome the holding of your Model United Nations activity,” said U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres in his welcoming message to attendees. “Your unwavering commitment to international cooperation is essential for tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, the biggest test our world has faced since the Second World War.”

Student delegates must research and prepare a position paper based on the policies and views of the country they represent within the United Nations committee in which they serve. It is both an exercise in competition and diplomacy, requiring students to build, give persuasive speeches and engage in formal negotiations.

“We are so proud of our entire Lone Star College team who came together to achieve this remarkable success during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Katharine Caruso, LSC associate vice chancellor, Honors and International Education.

These awards represent a significant achievement as the LSC delegations were competing with hundreds of schools from around the world including American University in Cairo, St. Petersburg College, the University of Münster, King’s College and numerous state universities.

Lone Star College students were selected as a Top Outstanding Delegation and a Distinguished Delegation at this year’s National Model United Nations Conference. Pictured is a screen shot of students, including those from LSC taking part in the event.

Lone Star College offers high-quality, low-cost academic transfer and career training education to 93,000+ students each semester. LSC is training tomorrow’s workforce today and redefining the community college experience to support student success. Stephen C. Head, Ph.D., serves as chancellor of LSC, the largest institution of higher education in the Houston area with an annual economic impact of almost $3 billion. LSC consists of seven colleges, 10 centers, two university centers, Lone Star Corporate College and LSC-Online. To learn more, visit LoneStar.edu.